Your PLN (personal learning network) is Your Greatest Learning Opportunity

Over the past few years, I have signed up for online courses, watched videos, listened to Podcasts and attended talks. But my biggest learning experience has been through my PLN (Personal Learning Network).

A PLN is an informal global network of people that you personally choose to interact with online and share knowledge with. I have created my own personal learning network on multiple social media channels, become part of a Mastermind group and have found learning opportunities through many experts around the world.

For those of you that are interested in creating a PLN you might have been creating one already and not even have known it. How many of you are part of a Facebook group, chat daily on Twitter, connect on Linkedin and create & share Pinterest boards? Well some of these groups, boards and Twitter conversations are actually part of your PLN. 

Now don't get me wrong, some Facebook groups are not PLN's like the local group on Facebook for selling or swapping things, but I do have groups that I am part of around specific topics or interests. Here are some examples of my own PLN's:

• Facebook Groups: I am part of a few different Facebook groups that focus on a different topic or interest. For example; I am part of a Dad's Entrepreneurs Group, Choose Yourself Group and a Smart Passive Income Community Group. What's great about each group is that I can learn from others on different areas in my life that I need help in. By posting questions or just by helping someone else with their specific problem, I am able to build relationships with others that I can add to my network. The most important thing to remember is being part of the conversation and giving as much information as you can to help others. 
• https://www.pinterest.com/: There is super value to Pinterest boards for learning and connecting with others. Pinterest is easy for me to discover very specific topics that I want to learn about and the best part is, someone has already done the work and created boards for me. I can't tell you how many times I have found a very useful infographic, made personal connections and have found links to informative blogs, videos, and websites. 
• Twitter: I learned that Twitter doesn't work if you are not part of a conversation, asking questions or sharing resources and learning opportunities. Twitter is successful if you jump into a conversation and help bring value to it. For example there are multiple scheduled chats that I jump into, most recently I have been into James Altucher's weekly Twitter Chat on Thursday's at 3:30pm. I like asking James questions, but I also like to create a longer Twitter conversation and learning opportunity by jumping in on other people's questions, respond to a question or expand their question with another one for an even great learning opportunity. 
• Mastermind Group: This past spring I became part of a private Mastermind Group that grew out of a Facebook group. My Mastermind Group meets weekly and is made up of 3-5 people. Each week we meet and someone is the hot seat where that person's business is the focus. During the hot seat each person can ask questions, share what they are working on and most of all get new ideas and advice on anything that will help them move their business forward. Without the original Facebook group finding these specific people would have been impossible. I have made some lifelong relationships and have not only learned a lot, but I am inspired each week to do more.
• Blab, Periscope and Meerkat: I have not jumped into the  video networks Periscope and Meerkat yet, but from what I see there is huge potential in teaching, connecting and learning. I know of artists, chefs and musicians who have been killing it on these platforms and they not only share their knowledge but also learn from others and make bigger connections offline. Recently, I have been checking out Blab which is a video platform that reminds me of a video version of the old AOL chat rooms from back in the day. The connections and conversations have been inspiring and I can't wait to see the opportunities that all of these video platforms can provide to my PLN over the next few years.
• Linkedin: To be honest, I haven't really been heavily involved in using Linkedin for my PLN besides just reading some of the posts and connecting with others. There is just so many networks and so little time. If you have have been able to create a great PLN on Linkedin post in my comment section below and let me know what was most successful for you. 

These are examples of my personal PLN, you now have an opportunity to create your own individual PLN around your own interest, whether it is photography, business, marketing or furniture making. 

For me being a connected learner has been my greatest learning experience, I can't tell you how many times people have taught me something new or have given me advice, ideas and most of all have helped save me from wasting  a ton of time on ideas that  just weren't good. 

As seen in my list above, there are plenty of networks to connect on, just try not to overwhelm yourself and do them all. 

How do you learn best? Please leave a comment below and share a success story on a great self-learning experience that you have had?